"Warring Ideals in One Dark Body"

I ran into my new supervisor in the elevator and the head of IT at the door. She's soft-spoken with a toothy grin, and he's a bit of a teddy bear who greets me with a hug. I'm practically ushered into my office by my elbows. It has a door. There's a bookshelf and lamp in here for me. My email and phone number are all ready to go. People have been stopping by all morning. "We're so happy that you're here/back!" they beam, depending on if they were around when I worked here a few years ago. There's still a print of Ella Fitzgerald, The Duke, and Benny Goodman from the Herman Leonard Collection that I'd loved hanging on the wall from a someone I knew who had this office before I did. That's just fine by me.

For the next three days I get to read about ethics, informed consent, respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. I'm back where I belong in this industry: a think-tank, where reading, thinking, respect, and idea-sharing are encouraged.

I've got this feeling on like soft cocoa butter. Nobody's going to come in here and yell at me or treat me like some kind of talking dog because I know how to answer the phone. Nobody's going  to ask me to work for free. I know the slack-jawed awe will wear off and honeymoons end, but the difference of the quality of the "air" in here is so remarkable that I'm not sure how I stood it as long as I did at the other place.

Also thinking about my friends who are still seeking work and wondering if there's anything I can do for them. I want for them to be able to feel a quiet relief to worry too.

 

I appreciate not having my time wasted like the folks at the pizza joint who took 20 minutes to serve me a single slice. That means treating us all like we're big critters and can read. The instructors at at CORE didn't go over every page in our considerable packets of information, which I think sets the proper tone since we're talking about a degree of self-sufficiency here.

( Here are a list of disasters in Oakland since 1983. )

There's more to planning than I could reasonably address in one post, however, there are some important points to mention just in case I'm not around to ask at the time.

( OK, I admit that I think about this stuff in a way that is not normal. )

Thanks, luv. I needed that.